


Heroine

by josiahstick



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (2017), Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Dunno how far this'll go, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Genderswap, Just writing random ideas, Sort Of, Thanks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-25 03:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12027123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/josiahstick/pseuds/josiahstick
Summary: A mysterious notebook falls from the sky into the hands of Light Turner. However, he is not interested and throws it away. It is instead picked up by a coolheaded cheerleader, Mia Sutton. Soon enough, the goddess Kira begins eliminating all the world's evil, and comes to attract the attention of an enigmatic child...Basically, my own idea of how the Death Note movie could have gone, with rules and pacing etc changed to more closely match the original while using some of the film's characters and setting. And cutting out all the stupid parts. Enjoy!(no need to have seen the Death Note film to get this)





	Heroine

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Just taking a break from writing my Persona fanfictions to try something new. If you're here because of those, rest assured, they're still coming. I'm just reworking a lot of stuff and considering all the plot points (plus I've been busy IRL). If you've never read any of my fics before, well, welcome!
> 
> Anyhoo, I thought the Death Note movie was alright, entertaining, sure, but a lot of it made no sense. I liked the concept and some characterization, just thought the plotting was pretty bad and it was trying to do too much which led it to making really odd logic leaps. So I thought I'd just try writing up a different spin on the story.
> 
> Basically, I thought it might be interesting if Mia found it instead of Light, so I decided to try writing that up. Sticks closer to the anime with pacing and Death Note rules, Ryuk's motives, things like that, and no senseless gory deaths. 
> 
> I don't know if I'll write more of this. Actually, I probably won't, unless people like it. So, yeah, just comment if you have an opinion or just like/dislike this enough to take the time to tell me. And even if I do there's no guarantee I'll finish but, whatever. Hope this is at least somewhat entertaining!
> 
> (also I'm an idiot who posted this after saving it a week ago so the date was wrong and because of AO3's weirdness, I deleted and reposted it so it'd actually show up...)

It was a bright sunny day in Seattle. Not a cloud in the bright blue fucking sky, nothing going on to draw any attention whatsoever away from the lone blonde-haired boy sitting in the schoolyard doing his homework. Or rather, it would be his homework, but it was in fact the homework of other, less gifted students, who had hired Light Turner with their lunch money to do their work for them. Thus, here he was, profiting off of their lazy behinds, living the high life! And it was  _ great. _

It would be great, anyway, if there was not a stormy storm which soon erupted in the sky. People began screaming and running to take shelter from the rain. Clouds swirled about, seemingly with no end to their swirly swirling of discolored whitish-grey, a grey that looked so grey, that Light could not imagine it being manifested by natural forces.

What the fuck was going on?

Little did Light know, that what the fuck was going on was something that would change his life forever.

He looked up into the swirling grey sky. Without warning, a black notebook mysteriously dropped into his lap. Curious, Light took a look at it.

The cover bore a simple but ominous title:

**DEATH NOTE**

“Death Note?” Light chuckled, opening it up. “What the hell’s that?”

**The human whose name is written in this note shall die.**

“‘Human whose name is written in this note shall die,’ huh…” Light flipped through it for a few moments, while the storm continued gathering above him. “‘The note will not take effect unless…’ hmm… that’s pretty funny.”

“Hey, Turner, what are you doing?!” shouted a teacher somewhere in the distance. “Get the hell out of the rain and inside with everyone else already!”

“‘If the cause of death is not specified…’

_ “TURNER!” _ shouted the teacher again.

“Man, if this notebook could really kill people… imagine!” Light was lost in thought for a moment. “I’d be able to save the world! Like…”

“Don’t make me tell you again, Turner! Get your ass in the building!”

“Right, right.” Light turned to the teacher and called out, “sorry, just need to put some stuff away first!” He hastily put the homework into his bag, and then turned to the supposed Death Note.

“It’s probably a joke,” Light reasoned. “It’s got too many rules anyway. Whatever!” He picked up the notebook, then raised his arm and hurled it in the direction of the nearest trash can. Having gotten rid of the useless, fraudulent artifact, he turned to the school and ran inside.

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the heavens, the Shinigami Ryuk groaned in disappointment.

“Aw man! He didn’t pick it up.” Ryuk pondered for a moment what he ought to do in the event that Light disregarded the Death Note. Perhaps he should simply come back and retrieve it.

However, Ryuk figured that this would not be very fun. “I’ll leave it there for another few days,” he decided, “and see if anyone else picks it up.” 

I possibly should have clarified when I said that this event would change Light’s life. There is no denying that this event, and the repercussions it would have on the world, would ultimately come to change his life— as well as the lives of the entire world.

However, before the Death Note would ever come to touch his life, there was a more significant, more daring, more charismatic human alive, whose life it would come to touch first.

On that note, we will now shift our attention to the heroine of this story…

* * *

Mia Sutton had been doing cheerleading practice with her squad when this event happened. On the way into the school to hide from the storm, she was harassed by some idiot named Kenny. Mia couldn’t care less about Kenny, honestly. That guy was a real idiot, and completely irrelevant to her life. He was best left ignored.

On the way out of school, she saw that nerdy kid, Light Turner. Apparently, he had been doing other people’s homework to make a quick buck, and been caught in the act of doing business with one of the idiots who had made the unfortunate decision of becoming one of his customers. He was trying to talk his way out of trouble, but ultimately the principal shut him down and he was placed into detention.

Mia laughed to herself a moment, amused at his predicament. Light was such a soft little idiot. She didn’t know him very well, but that much, she could tell. Anyone could tell. Sure, he got good grades, but everyone knew good grades didn’t mean smart. Despite his consistent As and the occasional B, he consistently acted on impulse, made ridiculous mistakes, and got himself into dumb situations.

Whereas Mia, while she wouldn’t consider herself smart, particularly, she knew how to stay out of trouble. That wasn’t to say she was a goody-two shoes or anything. Far from it. Mia did, however, know quite well how to get away with doing something wrong, very unlike Light.

Mia was certain that if she and Light Turner were forced to fight to the death for their survival, she would almost certainly emerge victorious. Not that she would wish to kill him. Even if she had the means or the initiative, he wasn’t worth killing.

Forgetting Light Turner for the time being, Mia left the school and entered the bright Seattle sunshine. There, she spotted a small notebook inside the trash can…

She approached it and picked it up. “Death Note?” She opened it and began to read.

**DEATH NOTE**

**How to use it**

**I. The human whose name is written in this note shall die.**

“Is that so?” Mia found this extremely intriguing. “If notebooks could kill…”

It was probably some sort of joke, but she decided it could be fun to keep around. She’d needed a new notebook anyway…

* * *

**II. The note will not take effect unless the writer has the person’s face in his or her mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.**

_ What happens if two people happen to have the same name and look really similar? _ Mia wondered.

**III. If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds after writing the person’s name, it will happen.**

**IV. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.**

**V. After writing the cause of death…**

Mia had read enough for the time being.  _ This is ridiculous. _ What kind of idiot would waste their time coming up with all these complicated rules for some sort of sick joke like this? Clearly, someone with a lot of free time. A  _ lot _ lot of free time…

Mia stowed the notebook away in her desk drawer, and, taking a seat, began doing her homework. Her bedroom was clean and pretty, full of all kinds of girly and punk-rockish things she’d long grown-out of.

As Mia wrote, a thought crossed her mind…

_ Is there anyone I want dead? _

Maybe Light Turner. Hmm. No, there’d be no reason to kill him. He was annoying sometimes, but he had nothing to do with her, and certainly wasn’t bothering her. Perhaps someone evil?

Mia didn’t know any evil people, though. But perhaps…

There was a hard knock at the door.

“Mia! Will you try this dress on?”

Mia sighed. “Sure, dad.” She stashed her homework in the desk drawer of her room, along with the Death Note.

Mia’s father was a famous fashion designer, and often asked her to try on new outfits that he had designed. She didn’t like it much, because the clothes he had her wear were often stupidly tight. But regardless, he needed a model, and she was the cheapest option.

So Mia got up from her desk and went to see what he had in store for her this time.

“Hey, Mia!”

“Hey, Dad,” Mia replied, looking a little bored. “Where’s Mom?”

“Your mother is out shopping for groceries. I figured while she’s gone you could try this out for me!” Her dad held up a plain red party dress. It didn’t look like anything special, but Mia supposed that there was some sort of fancy gimmick he’d attached to it to make it “cooler.”

“Sure.” Mia took the dress, and went to the next room over, where she promptly changed. After a moment, she came back and spun around to give her father a good look at all its angles. It was a rather constricting dress, and she couldn’t wait to escape from it.

“How’s it look?”

“Pretty good!” Her dad grinned and took a note or two. “Just may want to change up…”

“Hey, Dad,” Mia asked, “do you think there’s anyone in the world who deserves to die?”

“What? Oh, I don’t know…” He quickly forgot what she had been saying. “The measurements…”

Mia sighed, went and changed out of her dress, and headed back to her room. Her dad never really paid much attention to her. It was kind of irritating…

* * *

It was at school the next day, during class, that it occurred to Mia that there was a particularly despicable person whom she wanted dead. The idiot who kept commenting hateful things on all her YouTube videos. Mia usually ignored it, but now that she thought about it, she actually really, really hated him. Whoever he was.

She wouldn’t be able to kill him, though. That wouldn’t be possible at all, according to the rules of the notebook. Would it?

Come to think of it, there was  _ one _ comment this troll had left, several months back. He’d left a link to some trashy blog that he had been writing as of late. If the notebook worked, and she could use it against him… she imagined that with the link to his blog, it would not be much of a challenge to find some sort of personal page which might contain a name and photo.

Of course, this was all hypothetical.  _ If _ the notebook worked.  _ If _ she found a photo. And after all that effort, would it really have been worth it to kill him?

No... actually, it would be quite petty. And if his death and connection to Mia were discovered, it would only lead to suspicion against her. Not worth the risk at all. Besides, what was he to her? She actually wasn't bothered by that guy at all...

Mia rubbed her forehead, feeling quite tired. She was probably thinking about all this way too hard. She also hadn’t gotten very much sleep the previous night. Having been up late, unable to sleep, watching the news on her computer…

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. That’s right. The news.

* * *

_ “A horrifying school shooting has occurred at a nearby Seattle elementary school,” _ the newsperson announced.  _ “The perpetrator has been identified as 24-year-old Max Phillips. He is considered armed, dangerous, and still inside the school. Police are currently trying to get inside to apprehend him and rescue survivors, but find themselves impeded by an explosion trap which he has rigged on the door…” _

“Hmm,” Mia mused as she watched the story play out. “Perhaps…”

She took the Death Note out of her desk drawer, and looked at Max Phillips’ portrait on the news. Her pen began to touch the paper, but then she thought it over a moment.

_ If he does actually die, _ Mia wondered,  _ does that make me a murderer? Or… a murderess? And what if someone else dies after, trying to undo that explosive he rigged? _

After considering this carefully, Mia decided what to do. If this worked, it would almost certainly prove the legitimacy of the Death Note. If not, she could toss it back into the trash.

_ Max Phillips. Dies by a heart attack. Before his death, he undoes the explosive trap he has placed on the door of the school, and surrenders himself to the police without harming any other individuals. However, immediately after they handcuff him, the heart attack occurs, and he dies. _

With everything written to her satisfaction, Mia then set about continuing to watch the news.

A minute passed.

Another minute passed.

And another.

_ It can’t be real, _ Mia thought.  _ Nothing is happening. Nothing at all… _

_ Wait. Maybe— _ Mia remembered one of the Death Note’s rules.

**After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.**

Perhaps it was waiting those six minutes to see if she wanted to add more.

_ Or it’s just a sham. _

Either way, Mia decided to wait another three and a half minutes before writing the Death Note off as a hoax. In the meantime…

_ “Hold on— something beyond the door is moving!” _ the newscaster shouted.  _ “Something is happening! Police are keeping their distance!” _

“Oh?” Mia’s eyes lit up, and she watched, intrigued by what might happen next. Had it really worked?

_ “It’s opening! The door is opening! Max Phillips is coming out!” _

Was he now?

The grainy live TV footage showed Max Phillips, indeed, exiting the school with his hands empty and raised high.

_ “He’s giving up! He’s turning himself over to the police!” _

“Does this mean it worked?” Mia whispered in awe. Time would tell…

_ “The police are arresting him!” _

As Max Phillips was handcuffed, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, and _ — _

_ “Wait! What’s this? He appears to be suffering a seizure!” _

Mia Sutton looked down at the Death Note.

_ … immediately after they handcuff him… _

_ “He’s dead! He’s suddenly died without warning! This is a truly unexpected turn of events!” _

_ What? _ Mia giggled hysterically.  _ It happened exactly as I wrote it! Does this mean it’s real? Could it be? _

“Mia?” called her mother from beyond the door. “Is something the matter? Are you sick?”

“No, Mom!” Mia replied, quickly hiding the Death Note and closing her laptop. “I just saw something really great on TV…”

* * *

“Did you hear?” someone said. “Some crazy shooter died! Like, he turned himself over to the cops, and then just had a heart attack out of nowhere! Ain’t that strange?”

“Maybe,” said another student. “I don’t really care. Guy was a rotten scumbag. Glad to see him go!”

“But the way he died was just odd. Like, he had no history of heart problems. People just don’t have heart attacks out of nowhere!”

“What if someone killed him? Like, maybe they somehow made him have a heart attack!”

“You’re reaching there. That’s a load of conspiracy bullshit…”

Mia smiled to herself. Everyone was talking about that shooter guy. They were  _ glad _ he was gone. She hadn’t made a single mistake… and with the only evidence being a single piece of paper, a connection no one would ever make, no one could trace the death back to her.

She knew she ought to feel guilty, about having committed a murder. But she didn’t. She felt oddly…  _ triumphant. _ It was the same sense of satisfaction she felt when squishing a bothersome insect. Like Mia had cleaned up after a pest. Perhaps she could…

Hmm, maybe it was worth trying again. But on whom? Perhaps someone in school… like Kenny? He was quite a nuisance, and she was certain there were others whom he had been bothering.

_ No, _ Mia reasoned,  _ then the police would have reason to suspect me. _

As she left school for the day, Mia decided to forget about the note for now. She’d decide what to do with it when she got home…

* * *

Later that evening, as she was making a trip to the mini-mart for some soda, Mia saw a strange guy in a secondhand-looking suit, who was bothering some woman. The street was empty, devoid of traffic, and there were no notable details or hazards to speak of other than a strangely open manhole in the middle of the road.

“Hey,” the guy said, “don’t you have any money for smokes?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” the woman responded nervously. “I need to go home. Please excuse me…”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, pretty lady!” the man assured her, with a strange hint of malice, barely discernable, mixed into his forced friendly voice. “I can call my buddies for that. Come on, let’s have some fun, why don’t we?”

“Um… no… no thank you.” The woman turned away and began to leave. “Mister, uh…”

“Mr. Bill Harlington!” the man reminded her.

“Mr. Harlington,” the woman told him, “I really need to get home to my children…”

“Oh come on,” Bill Harlington told her. “I’m a fun guy! I got a fast car and a load of money and a sweet mansion… don’t you wanna come with me?”

“No…” the woman gasped. “Please leave me alone!”

Mia turned around to take a good look at this Harlington character. His suit seemed quite fake, and judging by his unkempt appearance— ratty brown hair, a rather suspiciously messy beard, and general untidiness —it seemed he was bluffing about his wealth.

Not to mention, Mia had not seen any sort of expensive-looking vehicle anywhere in the vicinity. She highly doubted that anyone as rich as Harlington claimed lived near here. So either he was a liar… or an intruder.

“Well, if you’re not gonna come with me,” Bill Harlington decided, “I’ll just have to take you along!” He grabbed the woman by the waist, and she screamed.

_ “PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP!” _

“Come on! You know you want to, don’t you? It’s gonna be fun!”

Mia hid behind a corner and began writing.

“Stop struggling! Come on now, you and me, pretty lady, we’re gonna have a good time!”

“NO!” the woman freed herself and began to run.

“Hey, come back here!” Bill Harlington began to run after the woman, but for some reason, suddenly changed direction and ran into the street, rather than continuing to chase the woman.

_ “ _ Wait, where the hell did she go—  _ AHHHHH!!!” _

There was a splat from somewhere beneath the street. The woman, still screaming, ran away, and soon the street was quite deserted.

Mia walked out into the street and looked into the open manhole. It was too dark to see, but she knew that Bill Harlington was down there. Perhaps never to be found again.

_ Bill Harlington, _ she had written.  _ Runs into the street and falls into an open manhole, and is killed by the impact. _

Mia laughed. And laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

_ I killed him… I really killed him! _ She kept on laughing and laughing.  _ The notebook really works! _

* * *

“Hey, Mia!” shouted the coach of the school football team. “You seem a little over-excited today. Something happen?”

“Nope,” Mia replied, “I’m just in a really good mood today!” She beamed brightly.

“Okay, well, whatever it is that’s keeping you so hyped, keep it up!” the coach told her. “You’re really inspiring the team!”

“Glad to hear it!” Mia said cheerily. “Let’s win the next game fair and square!”

_ Inspiring the team, _ Mia laughed to herself.  _ I’d hope so. I’m thinking I must be inspiring the whole world… as ‘Kira!’ _

It had been nearly a week. After Mia’s efforts had begun, some Japanese guy named Soichiro had created a website, dubbing her ‘Kira,’ and celebrating her as a hero. The name had quickly caught fire on the internet, and Mia was gratified by the names some people were calling her.

Some hailed her as a knight, a savior. Some feared her, calling her a monster. And those who stayed quiet… Mia could only assume that anyone not supporting her was evil. All evil. They would all be eliminated soon enough…

_ Let’s not get hasty, _ Mia decided.  _ We’ve got to take care of the criminals first… _

Terrorists. Mob bosses. Mass shooters. As Kira, Mia would wipe them all away with a stroke of her pen. There was nowhere anyone could hide… from their new goddess! The goddess who would deliver this world from the rotten stink it had found itself in.

With that in mind, Mia followed the coach’s instructions, and continued cheering on the team until football practice was over.

“Hey, Mia!” shouted a team member, approaching her as the practice ended. “You did a real great job today! I brought some apples for you to show our appreciation!” He held out a larger basket of them.

“Thanks dude,” Mia said, grinning and taking the apples. She didn’t particularly like apples, but she was glad that someone liked her cheering. “Hope the game tomorrow goes well!”

* * *

“You’ve been quite busy.”

Mia yelped and fell out of her chair. Looking up, she saw a strange demon… a grey-skinned monster with bright yellow eyes.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Why, I’m Ryuk, a Shinigami,” the demon informed her casually. “I’ve been watching you mess around with my Death Note, after I dropped it in the human world.”

“You want it back?” Mia hissed at Ryuk apprehensively. “Well, you can’t have it! You’ll have to kill me!”

Ryuk laughed. His laugh was quite strange, inhuman even. “Nah, I don’t feel like it. Actually, it’s been real fun watching you use the notebook! I dropped it for some other guy who vaguely reminded me of an old friend, but he didn’t seem to care. I’m glad you picked it up instead. You’ve been a lot more entertaining than he probably would’ve been!”

Ryuk chuckled again, and, noticing the basket of apples on Mia’s desk, picked one up and ate it. “MmmMmmgoodyum,” he murmured unintelligibly as he chewed. He took a bite of a second apple, which he then offered to Mia. “Wanna share?”

“No, thank you,” Mia said politely. She didn’t care for an apple that this guy had taken a bite of. It didn’t appear that Ryuk ever bothered to brush his teeth.

“Suit yourself.” Ryuk laughed, and ate the remainder of the apple, core and all. “Mmm, delicious! Anyway, I’ve been wondering. Why’ve you only been killing all those people with heart attacks, besides that guy who fell in the hole? It’s not very exciting to see them all go out the same way.”

“Because, Ryuk,” Mia told him, “that’s the best part about the Death Note! Everyone dies by a heart attack! It won’t take long for people to figure out someone’s killing all these criminals one by one… and I want the world to know who I am! Their goddess, Kira! Who will cleanse the world of all evil!”

Ryuk laughed a good while longer. “You really remind me of my old friend. He said the same thing…”

“What about you?” Mia asked, “why’d you drop this Death Note, Ryuk? Why’d you choose me?”

“I didn’t choose you!” Ryuk laughed again. “I just dropped it… and you just happened to find it. And as for why I did it… I did it because I was bored, and I was looking for a new person. Honestly, I was starting to miss the last guy.”

“And who was the last guy?” Mia wondered.

“He was a lot like you,” Ryuk answered, “except, well, he was a dude.” He munched down another apple. “MmmMmm! I’d almost forgotten how good these tasted!”

“So he attempted to cleanse the world of evil as well?” Mia inferred. “I’m assuming he failed, then. How’d that happen?”

Ryuk laughed even more and more. “I ain’t gonna tell you!”

Mia turned away from Ryuk and went back to writing names in the Death Note. “Fine, then, be that way,” she said snidely. “Whether you tell me about this guy or not, I’ll almost certainly fail where he succeeded. I will become the Goddess of the New World!” She snickered quietly.

Ryuk, meanwhile, only laughed and laughed some more.

* * *

Far away in a dark room, a small girl wearing a tiny colorful hat quietly stared at a computer screen, reading articles about Kira on the internet.

_ Kira Strikes Again! Ends Corrupt Government Officials _

_ Kira’s Victims Linked! The Ultimate Conspiracy _

_ Kira Lives! Testimonies From Experts. _

_ Kira: Savior or Scoundrel? _

“Kira, huh?” The little girl smiled and laughed to herself, before shoving a decently-sized slice of cake into her mouth. “This is going to be very fun…”

**Author's Note:**

> sooo I know the plotting of this is practically identical to the first episode of the anime. That's somewhat intentional. If I continue this, I'll definitely be diverging a bit with new characters and expanding on existing ones in creative ways. And putting them in wayy different situations. So this won't just be the same dang story again.
> 
> Errr okay it might be _technically_ the same story but like idk, I'll try and make it cool.
> 
> Anyway. I dunno if this is good cause I didn't really get much feedback on it (and my editor on the P5 fics isn't really a Death Note guy). But if you enjoyed it, cool! Coolcool. See ya!


End file.
